Leader of the House of Lords

UK Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe

baroness evans of bowes park: My Rt Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made the following statement to the House of Commons: The Hon. Member for Yeovil (Marcus Fysh) and the Hon. Member for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills) have been appointed as full members of the United Kingdom Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in place of the Rt. Hon. Member for Clwyd West (David Jones) and the Hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Laurence Robertson). The Hon. Member for Southport (Damien Moore) has been appointed as a substitute member.

Ministry of Defence

Counter-Daesh Operations

earl howe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Gavin Williamson) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. As part of our counter-terrorism strategy, the UK is playing a leading role in the Global Coalition to defeat Daesh - a unified body of 75 members. We have committed nearly 1,400 military personnel to the region to provide support to local partners. In the air, the RAF has conducted more than 1,600 air strikes in Iraq and Syria – second only to the US – and provides highly advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to Coalition partners. These strikes are undertaken in the collective self-defence of Iraq as part of the global Coalition to defeat Daesh, and at the request of the Government of Iraq. On the ground, British soldiers have trained over 60,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces in engineering, medical, counter-IED and basic infantry skills. As a result of the Coalition’s action, Daesh has lost more than 98 per cent of the territory it once occupied in Iraq and Syria, and 7.7 million people have been liberated from its rule. We do everything we can to minimise the risk to civilian life from UK strikes through our rigorous targeting processes and the professionalism of UK Service personnel. It is therefore deeply regrettable that a UK air strike on 26 March 2018, targeting Daesh fighters in eastern Syria, resulted in an unintentional civilian fatality. During a strike to engage three Daesh fighters, a civilian motorbike crossed into the strike area at the last moment and it is assessed that one civilian was unintentionally killed. We reached this conclusion after undertaking routine and detailed post-strike analysis of all available evidence. There are limits on any further details that can be provided given ongoing operations and consequent national security issues. As with any serious incident the wider Coalition also conducts its own investigation and will report in due course. These events serve to remind us of the consequences of conflict and of the heavy price that the people of Syria have paid. It reminds us that when we undertake military action, we must do so knowing that it can never be completely without risk. Such incidents will not weaken our resolve to defeat Daesh and rid the world of its poisonous ideology of hate and intolerance. The UK’s commitment to the Global Coalition against Daesh and to the people of Iraq and Syria will remain as strong as ever.

Contingent Liabilities

earl howe: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Procurement (Guto Bebb) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am today laying a Departmental Minute to advise that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is retrospectively notifying Parliament about contingent liabilities not previously disclosed, due to procedural errors. Her Majesty’s Treasury has retrospectively approved these contingent liabilities. The Minute describes the contingent liabilities that the MOD holds against ten Defence Equipment and Support contracts (DE&S). It is usual to allow a period of fourteen Sitting Days prior to accepting a contingent liability, to provide Hon. Members an opportunity to raise any objections. Regrettably, this was not done ahead of contract award in these cases and I sincerely apologise for our failure to do so. The purpose of the Minute is to regularise the position with Parliament. The contracts remain fully enforceable and the associated contingent liabilities will be reported in the 2017-18 Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Annual Report and Accounts. Failure to notify these contingent liabilities prior to the award of the associated contracts has been reported to the Public Accounts Committee. The Department has noted the Committee’s concerns about this situation and fully accepts the need to follow the correct approvals and reporting procedures. DE&S has put in place a series of measures to address this issue including staff briefing; mandated training; improving the clarity of internal guidance and procedures; and additional controls in the approvals process, to ensure compliance. The following contracts have a very low risk of the contingent liability being incurred. The liability is assessed as unquantifiable due to the nature, scope, range and scale of possible scenarios that might occur, which means that it is not possible to provide a realistic estimate of cost: Supply of Cased Telescopic Cannon and Ammunition – liability against consequential and indirect losses until 9 July 2018CTAI Common Cannon and Ammunition Project – liability against consequential andindirect losses until 3 June 2019Design Authority Support for Cased Telescopic Cannon - liability against consequential and indirect losses until 31 March 2019Supply of 40mm Cased Telescopic Cannon - liability against consequential andindirect losses until 15 July 2022BAE Systems Dreadnought Design Contract – liability against submarine design work until 26 April 2023Babcock Design Contract (submarines) – liability against contractor’s personnel at defence establishments until 26 April 2023UK/France Test Facilities (2010) and sub contract – UK liability for dismantling and decommissioning costs until 2065 The following contract has an agreed amount of contingent liability up to £1.4 million against a breach of Intellectual Property Rights which expired on 31 March 2018 and a further unquantifiable element against a breach of environmental liability until 31 March 2025: Land Equipment Service provision and Transformation contract If the liability is called against any of these contracts, provision for any payment will be sought through the normal Supply procedure. The following contract had an agreed amount of contingent liability up to £7 million against damage to Ministry of Defence property which expired on 28 February 2018. No liability was called against this contract. Support to Combined Arms Tactical Training System

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Update on process - Fox-Sky merger

lord keen of elie: My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Rt Hon Matthew Hancock) has made the following Written Statement:On 23 January I provided an update to the House on the CMA’s interim report on their investigation into the proposed merger between 21st Century Fox Inc and Sky Plc.Today I received the final report from the CMA regarding the findings of their phase 2 investigation. Now that I have received this report, I must come to my decision and publish the report within 30 working days (by 13 June). My decision will be on whether the merger operates or may be expected to operate against the public interest, taking into account the specified public interest considerations of media plurality and genuine commitment to broadcasting standards.When I have reached a decision I will return to Parliament to make an oral statement. I will come to a view on whether to make a final order or accept any final undertakings in due course, and will consult on these publicly, but not before I have taken a decision on the public interest tests.Given my ongoing quasi-judicial role, I will not be making any comment about the substance of the report until I publish my decision.

Update on media matters

lord keen of elie: My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Rt Hon Matthew Hancock) has made the following Written Statement:On 23 April I confirmed that I had written to Trinity Mirror plc and Northern & Shell Media Group Limited to inform them that I was minded to issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN) on the basis that I had concerns that there may be two public interest considerations - as set out in the Enterprise Act 2002 - relevant to consideration of the merger.The first public interest ground is the need for free expression of opinion, and concerns the potential impact the transfer of newspapers would have on editorial decision making. The second public interest ground is the need for a sufficient plurality of views in newspapers, to the extent that it is reasonable or practicable.I invited written representations from the parties by 26 April and, having considered these, I have written to the parties today confirming my decision to issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN) on both grounds.This PIIN triggers action for Ofcom to report to me on the media public interest considerations and the CMA on jurisdiction and any competition issues, respectively, by the 31st May 2018. I will then consider whether or not to refer the merger for a more detailed investigation, or whether to accept undertakings-in-lieu of such a reference.The role of the Secretary of State, in this process, is quasi-judicial and procedures are in place to ensure that I act independently and follow a process which is scrupulously fair and impartial.